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Snyder Wins AEMP Technician of the Year: “He’s motivated by big jobs and challenges.”

Chase Snyder of Manatee County, Florida, has been named the 2021 Technician of the Year by the Association of Equipment Management Professionals Education Foundation.

Coworkers and supervisors at Manatee County government described Snyder as always willing to tackle the big mechanical problems, having a strong work ethic and constantly looking for ways to save taxpayers’ money.

Snyder is a senior fleet technician for Manatee County’s landfill shop, where he has worked for three years.

“The bigger the job, the better. The bigger the equipment, the better,” said Tracy Brooks, maintenance operations chief for the Manatee County Fleet Department, in describing Snyder’s attitude. “Given the choice of a light-duty repair or going to a call-out on a hill for a broken down compactor, he will choose standing ankle-deep in trash sludge every single time.”

Speaking during the awards ceremony Wednesday at the AEMP EquipmentShift Conference in Savannah, Georgia, Brooks added:

“It’s in his blood and he just enjoys it. Because he enjoys his job so much, it makes him better at what he does.”


Chase Snyder, AEMP tech of the year, enjoys working on heavy equipment, like this large mower attachment.Manatee CountyThe county’s landfill shop tracks and keeps running more than 170 pieces of equipment, everything from golf carts to heavy-duty construction equipment. Snyder can fix and maintain it all, but his favorite is the yellow iron: excavators, landfill compactors, dozers and motor graders.

He’s always been fascinated by the heavy construction equipment, but the local trade school, Manatee Technical College, offered a degree in general automotive maintenance, not heavy diesel equipment. So he got his start on the automotive side in college and worked full time during the day on transit buses for a nearby municipality. After college, he landed at Manatee County.

His supervisor, David Alligood, remembers the job interview with Snyder at Manatee County. “We knew then that we had someone special,” he says.

Alligood should know. He was the 2020 AEMP Technician of the Year.

“He has a very strong work ethic,” Alligood adds. “He’s motivated by big jobs and challenges. His focus on the county’s budget and smart spending makes him an asset to our team. He is constantly self-educating.”

Coworker Christopher Brooks described Snyder as easy to get along with, smart and a talented technician. “He’s a go-getter – never says no to anything. If you ever need a hand, he’s willing to help you. He knows the equipment very well.”

Another colleague, who also worked with Snyder at the transit bus shop, says Snyder is always available to lend a guiding hand. “If I have a question, he always takes a few minutes to explain…how something works. He also keeps a great attitude, not only helping me but everyone in the shop.”

The Technician of the Year Award by the AEMP Education Foundation has been presented each year since 1989 to “the individual who exemplifies the heavy equipment profession’s best technician.” The award seeks candidates who constantly update their education, demonstrate a strong safety record, improve fleet operations and are always professional.

As this year’s winner, Snyder will receive a custom-built John Deere toolbox and merchandise and complimentary one-year membership to AEMP. He will also be the subject of an in-depth cover story on equipmentworld.com.

Deere has sponsored the award for 32 years.

 

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https://www.tortowheaton.com/?p=562

Loftness debuts Battle Ax H Series mulcher for skid steers, CTLs, tractors

Today’s skid steers and compact track loaders crank out lots of hydraulic horsepower, and Loftness is taking advantage of that with its new Battle Ax H Series mulching attachments.

Designed for machines with 33 to 62.9 gallons per minute and 50 to 150 hydraulic horsepower, these heavy-duty models chew up the brush with an 88-inch cutting width. The H series has a V-drive variable displacement piston motor that automatically shifts the rotor rpm from high to low for increased torque as needed. The result is less stalling and a shorter recovery time, which allows you to concentrate on the work instead of the power settings and repositioning the head.

A two-stage cutting chamber processes material thoroughly, and the primary shear bar is adjustable for controlling particle size. Other standard features include a synchronous belt drive, bearing anti-wrap protection, adjustable skid shoes and an on-board pressure gauge. Options include hydraulic or manual adjusting push bars, custom mounts and universal skid steer mounts, a hydraulic or manually adjustable tree pusher bar, and a trap door to help prevent the attachment from throwing material underneath the tractor.

The Battle Ax models feature a rotor with built-in depth gauges that function like the raker on a chain saw, preventing the cutting teeth from engaging too much material at one time. The mulchers can be used with reversible planer knives, hard-surfaced planer knives or double-edged carbide teeth. Single-bolt mounting allows the blades to be reversed or replaced on the jobsite with a hex socket and wrench.

And if you don’t have a skid steer or CTL, Loftness also introduced a new Battle Ax attachment for compact tractors. Designed for tractors with a 540 rpm PTO and 36 to 70 PTO horsepower, the PTO Battle Ax has a 61-inch cutting width and comes with a Category I hitch, but is adaptable to Category II, free-link or quick hitch.     


Loftness Battle Ax attachment for tractors with PTOs.Loftness   

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.tortowheaton.com/?p=559